Everyone Loves an Underdog

I have debated over titling this article with an "underdog" theme or with a "Cinderella team" theme.

A Cinderella team is one that surprises competition and fans alike by advancing further in a tournament than anyone anticipated they would or even could.  The classic example of over achieving.

Underdog teams are thought of as being inferior to its opposition usually in both God-given ability and technical excellence. Perhaps the very definition of underachieving.

I suppose it is possible a team can fit in both categories, but then again, maybe not. 

My son's team plays their first, and quite possibly only, tournament game tomorrow on the home pitch of a team that thumped them 1 - 4 just 16 days ago.  They will enter this match as underdogs hoping to exit it as a Cinderella team.

As I searched the recesses of my mind for examples of teams who had found themselves in similar situations for my son and his teammates to draw inspiration from I kept running into coaching as being a constant in such stories.  Cinderella teams tend to have great coaching that helps to propel them beyond expectations.  Underdog teams often rise above inferior coaching when a perfect storm of circumstances conspire to allow them to overachieve beyond wildest expectations.

Therefore I am pretty sure my sons team should be depicted as an underdog team going into tomorrow nights match against Celina.  Their rookie head coach and his rookie assistants have experienced a very steep learning curve this season. The team is lacking in basic fundamentals, especially from a tactical standpoint. Celina is a well coached technical team with a sound understanding of who they want to be tactically. Yeah, Shawnee is an underdog going into the match tomorrow night. 

The question is, can they become a Cinderella team by the time the match is over?

That is going to depend on the players psychological approach to the match.  If they step onto the pitch truly believing they can win, Shawnee will have a chance to do just that. 

I am reminded of the 1989 NCAA basketball champion University of Michigan Wolverines. By all accounts they were underachievers throughout the season.  When their coach decided to leave for Arizona at the conclusion of the season the legendary Bo Schembechler, then the schools athletic director, stepped in and famously said "A Michigan Man will coach this Michigan TEAM."  He fired Bill Frieder on the spot and named assistant Steve Fisher the coach of the Wolverines for the NCAA tournament.

That Michigan team went on to win 6 straight games and the 1989 NCAA National Championship.  In a sense they made the transition from Underdog to Cinderella. 

Now, that 1989 Michigan team was loaded with future NBA talent. Why they underachieved throughout the regular season is open to debate. What is not open to debate is the stunning turnaround they made in the week leading up to their first game in the tournament.

Part of the answer can be found in quotes from the various players on that Michigan team. To paraphrase the collective, "We just went out and balled. No sets. No plays. It was just us playing ball."

If Shawnee is to be successful in transitioning from Underdog to Cinderella tomorrow night I think this is the attitude they must take - they just need to go out and play soccer.  Will they find the type of bond the coaching change at Michigan forged for the Wolverines in 1989?   I don't know if such a catalyst exists for the Indians.  That's going to be their challenge.  Can they unite and find the elusive team chemistry that can carry the day tomorrow?

They have nothing to lose and so nothing to fear.

My encouragement to these young men is to step onto the pitch and stand shoulder to shoulder in battling Celina tomorrow night. Have one anothers backs as players.  Block all else out.  When you walk off the field at the end of the match, do so with heads held high with the knowledge you gave the best performance possible under the circumstances. 

Good Luck Indians!


Update:  The slipper did not fit.